


Diamonds

by Red_Lenses



Series: When The Storm Breaks [5]
Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Marriage Proposal, This is incredibly sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 09:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11377104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Lenses/pseuds/Red_Lenses
Summary: Written on request. Jewel Man asks the love of his life a very important question.





	Diamonds

_Today is the day._

As Jewel Man held the door for a pair of humans to pass through and slipped outside quietly behind them, a carefully-wrapped bundle clasped tightly to his chest, his entire body trembled with anticipation. This tiny package had taken him well over a year to work toward. Some things did not come cheap, even to one who had a generous wage and an employee’s discount of which to take advantage. He felt no regret about the purchase, however. It would all be worth it soon.

_I hope he likes it._

Jewel wasn’t sure he would ever completely get used to this life. It was all thanks to Doctor Light that he had his job at a high-end jewellery store, where he had been working ever since the expiration date law was abolished. It was a perfect fit for him and he didn’t care in the slightest that he was paid far less than the human employees. His life was a comfortable one so long as he could pay his bills and rent, keep his kitchen stocked with E-Tanks, and occasionally dip into whatever was left to purchase a trinket for the love of his life. He had no wish to buy anything more for himself than what he already had.

Even as his feet carried him toward his apartment, a smile blossomed upon his face as his chest filled with warmth for Star Man. It was thanks to Jewel’s new job that they had even met at all, in fact. He could still clearly recall the day when he had first set eyes upon the other, who had been admiring a display of engagement rings. In offering to help him pick one out he had learned that Star had no one to shop for; rather, he was simply a hopeless romantic who teared up at the mere mention of weddings and whose greatest wish was for robot marriage to someday be possible.

Jewel was humming a quiet tune under his breath as he unlocked his door and let himself into his apartment. He had raised the blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows before leaving for work and his living room was flooded with warm afternoon sunlight. It was a wonderfully welcoming sight and he felt some of his nervousness begin to ebb away as he placed the package safely away within a drawer. E-Tank in hand, he crossed to the windows and stood admiring the view of the city spread out before him. Somehow, no matter how often he gazed upon it, the sight never lost any of its charm.

Having been hard at work in the mines throughout most of Wily’s attacks, Jewel had at first had no idea that Star was one of his robots. Despite the risk of rejection, however, Star had never attempted to keep the secret. He confessed the moment he learned of Jewel’s ignorance. It was a shock to hear at first, but Jewel stayed. And as Star opened up more and more about his pacifistic lifestyle and his hopes and dreams, Jewel became more and more certain that he had been right not to judge him for his creator’s actions.

A veil of darkness descended slowly over the city as Jewel watched, quietly sipping his drink. Only when the canister was empty and he could see little more than a curtain of shining lights did he finally turn away to begin his evening’s preparations. Star would be coming by tonight. He only ever arrived under the cover of darkness, when no one would care to follow him and find out who he was meeting. It had bothered Jewel at first, of course, but he accepted it quickly when Star confessed his fears of what could happen if one of his brothers discovered their relationship.

The Light bot was halfway through a thorough polishing of his chest plate when he was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. It came again before he could answer, this time accompanied by harsh breathing. Jewel hesitated for only a moment before throwing the door open, ready for a fight if there was danger on the other side. Caution melted into alarm as he took in the sight of his boyfriend standing in the hallway, tightly clutching a tote bag and struggling to wipe away the incessant flood of tears down his cheeks.

“S-Star? What happened?” Jewel stretched out a hand and Star immediately grabbed hold of it, allowing himself to be led inside. There were no words from him while Jewel guided him to the couch and provided him with a box of tissues and an E-Tank of his own. He showed no signs of having prepared for their meeting; his boots were dusty, his helmet bearing a recent scratch which could easily have been buffed out. The bag was what drew Jewel’s attention the most, however, and his gaze kept flickering back to it as he waited for Star to calm down.

When the waterworks finally stopped it didn’t take long for him to get his answer. “I left,” were the first words out of Star’s mouth. Clumsily he dried his face again and added that tissue to the pile that had quickly formed upon Jewel’s spotless table. “I couldn’t take it any more.”

“Take what?” Jewel prompted softly, stroking his hand to encourage him to continue.

“B-being… one of _them_. A Wily bot. I couldn’t… I had to get out. Do you think i-it’s a terrible thing for me to do? Turning my back on my f-family…?”

The only terrible thing was that Star had felt pushed to this point, Jewel thought to himself as he shook his head. “No, of course not. You have to do what’s best for yourself. I understand completely. Besides, I have plenty of space here. You’ll simply have to move in with me.”

“You mean it…?” Perhaps if he had not recently been crying Jewel would have been spared from more tears. Unfortunately for Star, the thought of something as romantic as moving in with his boyfriend pushed him over the edge once again. He ended up in Jewel’s arms, sobbing weakly into his shoulder as the other patted him soothingly on the back.

When the two separated Star drew several steadying breaths before he spoke up again. “I was planning to just stay in a hotel nearby. I could afford a few weeks. You don’t have to let me stay here.”

“And what would you do after that? Go back to them? Now, Star, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t open my home to you in your time of need?” Jewel wiped a tear from beneath Star’s eye with a thumb and smiled warmly at him. “I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Oh, Jewel… I love you too. With all my heart.” Pushing his bag of belongings aside, Star leaned into Jewel’s arms once again. This time the two reclined together on the couch, their fingers entwined and Star’s head resting against Jewel’s shoulder. A long moment of comfortable silence stretched between them before Star let out a sigh. “You’ve been so kind to me. Those late night picnics under the stars, the beautiful treasures you buy me, even letting me move in with you… I feel like I’ve done nothing in return.”

“That’s simply not true, Star. What about the time you surprised me with a weekend in Paris? That’s something I’ll never forget. And those candlelit dinners you made for us? Not to mention the spare parts you brought from the fortress when my family and I were in need. And your companionship on all those lonely nights, especially when I was trying to recover from my life nearly ending…”

Jewel’s voice trailed off into silence, prompting Star to glance up at him. There was a distant look in the Light bot’s eyes which softened into a smile as he focused on Star again. “Actually, there was something I was planning to ask you tonight. Something important.”

“Jewel?” Star straightened up as his boyfriend extracted himself from their embrace and slipped off the couch. His eyes followed Jewel as he retrieved the bundle from the drawer where he had tucked it earlier. As the wrapping fell away to reveal a small box, Star’s eyes grew wide and his core kicked into overdrive. _Surely he’s not…_

With the box clasped securely in his hands, Jewel approached to stand before the love of his life. The barely audible hum of Star’s cooling fan filled the apartment as their eyes met again. “Star, the way I feel about you is like nothing I’ve felt for anyone before in my life.”

“Jewel…?”

“That’s why I wanted to ask…” Jewel sank to one knee, hands trembling slightly as he opened the box. Star’s gaze fell to it and both hands flew to his mouth as he instantly recognized the engagement ring inside. It was the one he had always wanted, familiar right down to the cut of the diamond; the very same ring he had been admiring at the moment the two first met.

“Would you spend the rest of your life with me?” Before Jewel even finished the question, he could read the answer in the way Star’s eyes had begun to sparkle with both love and unshed tears. He had always known it could be no other ring but this one. And now that he saw his boyfriend’s response, he knew he had been right. Star was rendered speechless but he managed a nod as he reached out, not for the ring but for Jewel’s hands.

The Light bot climbed to his feet and his lover did the same, instantly wrapping him up in a crushing embrace. Star was planting kiss after kiss all over his face even as Jewel carefully removed the ring from the box and took his hand to slip it onto his finger. It looked as though it had been created just to sit there on Star’s hand. “How does it look? Do you like it?”

The hand was withdrawn from his grip and he felt Star hold it up behind him, where he could admire it between kisses. “It’s perfect, Jewel. The only thing in this world more perfect than this ring or this moment is you. I can’t believe you remembered all this time…!”

“How could I forget when the way you looked at me always reminded me of the way you looked at this very ring? The two of you belonged together, just like you and I. We don’t need the law to give us permission to marry. We’ll just do it on our own.”

Amid a fresh flood of tears, Star drew Jewel back down onto the couch and wrapped him up tightly in his arms. If he had the choice he would never want to let go. And if the way Jewel’s arms encircled him just as firmly was any indication, that feeling was clearly mutual. It didn’t matter what came their way from now on; they could face it together.

On second thought, perhaps he could get used to this life after all.


End file.
